The Coaster Critic's Blog

1 dies, 21 injured at Expoland in Japan
The Washington Post reported that there was an accident at Expoland an amusement park in Osaka, Japan. An axle on the Togo Stand Up coaster known as Fujin Raijin II broke. Pictures of the coaster can be found here. This is not the first roller coaster death on a Togo Stand Up. In 1999, a rider was killed on Shockwave at Kings Dominion. That accident was ruled rider's negligence as the rider freed himself of the restraints during the ride. This case at Expoland appears to be from a malfunction of the ride itself. The ride is currently closed.

As I pointed out in a post last May, you have a 1 in 1.5 billion chance of being fatally injured on a roller coaster. Every time you get behind the wheel of a car your chances are much, much worse (1 in 18,000). In case your not great with numbers, it's a lot more likely you'd be injured in a car, plane, or just walking outside than while riding a roller coaster. Events like these are tragic, but very rare considering the number of roller coasters in the world (over 2,000) and the number of rides given.

More at the Washington Post
Photo courtesy of AP